Social Media Marketing Tool Presentation and Report Due 2/29

Social Media Marketing Tool Presentation and Report (100 points)Presentations will be given on 2/29.

YOU MAY WORKING INDIVIDUALLY OR AS A TEAM OF 2-3 PEOPLE

Marketing professionals are expected to be up to date on technology and be competent in terms of assessing its use and relevance for engaging customers. They must be aware of new technologies and provide leadership and advice on how they can best be used to effectively grow the business. As a result, employees who work in marketing departments are oftentimes consulted by management in order to demonstrate the appropriate use of new technologies and are specifically asked to provide counsel on how they can be used to reach and engage customers as well as the risks that might be involved in such use.

With the above in mind, you will work in groups of two and provide a 5-7 minute demonstration and summary report on the use of one (sign ups will be held during class time on Monday, 2/29) of the following social media tools for marketing purposes.

Facebook Twitter Yelp! 4Square Instagram Pinterest

Tumblr YouTube Google+ Groupon Second Life Friendster

MySpace Vine LinkedIn Flickr Reddit Wikipedia

TripAdvisor Path Banjo Tagged Meetup StumbleUpon

Orkut MyLife

Presentations should cover the following:

Show/Describe the tool: How do you use it? How long has it been around? How many users/subscribers are there? Who are they? Hint: You may have to use Business Source Premier to research the tool in order to better understand it as a business leader as opposed to a user!

User benefits: Why do users/subscribers use this tool? What do they expect from it? Why did they turn to it?

Monetization strategy: How do the owners/developers of the tool make money? What does this do to the user experience? The use of it as a marketing tool? Hint: search BSP or Google the tool and the words monetization or monetization strategy.

Marketing benefits/value: How useful is this tool for marketing? Which industries are using it most? Which companies are using it most effectively? For what purpose (trial, awareness, desire, loyalty etc.) Show at least three different examples of successful/effective use of this tool and three examples of epic fails by companies using this tool for marketing purposes. Which industries might benefit the most from using this social media tool? Which ones might not find it valuable?

Marketing risks: What are the risks involved? Show examples of major fails by organizations. What do you think we can learn from them?

The presentation should be summarized in a professional ‘leave behind’ or 1 page (can be two sided) summary of the tool, how to use it, who uses it, marketing applications and risks. Think infographic or bullet point highlights more than written report

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Show/Describe the tool
Since its launch in 2008, the daily deal Web site Groupon has become so popular and so profitable that it passed on a $6 billion buyout offer from Google in December 2010 [source: Ovide]. Groupon has achieved fame and fortune by putting a Web-savvy spin on the boring old coupon. But to understand how Groupon works, let’s start with how coupons work.

A coupon is what is called a loss leader. A loss leader is any kind of sale, promotion, discount or special offer that entices customers to walk in the door. The business will almost certainly lose money on the discounted items, but the hope is that the customer will also spend money on other items, or even better, become a regular customer. Coupons typically have an expiration date and offer modest discounts; perhaps a dollar off specific grocery store items or a 15 percent discount at a major retailer.

User Benefits
For Businesses, if you have a lot of finished product sitting around, Groupon could be your ticket to clearing the warehouse. Especially if it is costing you a significant amount to hold on to the inventory, you may as well use Groupon to clear it even if this lowers your profit margins.

Monetization Strategy
Groupon makes money by charging a marketing fee advertising and promoting their offers. In most cases, that fee is a percentage of the revenue generated by selling on Groupon.

Groupon’s merchant satisfaction rating is about 79%—15 points higher than the average B2B merchant satisfaction score. Merchants make money from running deals on Groupon as Groupon customers typically spend more than the value of a deal and 91% return or plan to return to the business. Plus, there’s no upfront cost to sell on Groupon—we don’t make money until you make money.

Groupon’s transparency with its customers extends to merchants as well. When you sell on Groupon, there are no hidden costs or fees. We help you prepare for an increase in customer volume, give you proofs of the deal before it goes live, and work with you during and after your campaign to make sure everything runs smoothly. Your Groupon Merchant Center will also be there to help you monitor your return on investment and view customer feedback.

In addition to promoting your deal, Groupon provides everything you need to track the progress of your local advertising efforts. Groupon’s comprehensive online marketing strategy also includes an array of free or affordable small-business marketing tools.

Groupon also offers great products for credit card services. Our merchants get remarkably low rates on credit card processing on most major credit cards with Breadcrumb Payments. For restaurants, we offer Breadcrumb, a point-of-sale system designed by hospitality professionals to make running a restaurant or bar as simple as possible.

Marketing Benefits/Value

Advertising That Actually Works

Radio, print, TV, billboards—nothing delivers customers with the speed, reach, and power of a Groupon advertising campaign. Plus there’s no upfront cost. Try asking for that from your other marketing channels

Unparalleled Support and Promotion

We’re committed to delivering the exposure and results you want. Tell us how many customers you need, and we’ll provide a mix of online, email, mobile, and social promotion to meet your goals.
Marketing Risks
Risks
In its quest for subscribers, Groupon overlooked a few things, like proper accounting. First, in its initial public offering registration statement, Groupon used its own metric for calculating operating income that didn’t include its marketing costs. With this accounting scheme, it made $82 million in the first quarter of 2011, but with the traditionally accepted GAAP accounting, the company lost $117 million that quarter. After criticism, the company dropped this special accounting standard, but that wasn’t the end of its accounting trouble.